Category: Bombay Hues

Born and bred in Mumbai , vada pav has always been my snack of preference over misal Pav . Vada pav , or the Indian burger , is an ‘ on the go’ snack , whereas misal Pav needs you to sit , soak in the spicy lentil curry and then proceed. It has been my dad’s favourite and the ones I have seen being served in Mumbai are less elaborate than the one in the picture above .

Misal in Marathi means ‘ mixture’ and the dish is just that. A mixture of lentils ( sprouted mothbeans mostly ) curry , spices( Goda masala is used for the curry , a local blend of spices) , topped with farsan ( fried salted snack ) or sev and chopped onions . It’s best to squeeze in a little lime juice to bring out all the favours .

What you see in the picture is what I ordered recently at a dhaba on my way to Malshej Ghat. The man at the counter suggested I try it and I didn’t want to disappoint him , so I agreed . What was suppposed to be breakfast , looked more like lunch !

What you see is the bread ( Pav) , the misal ( spicy curry with lentils ) , some curd ( in this case it plays the fire extinguisher ) , chopped onion and lime , curd , a small bowl of extra curry ( incase you need to dunk your bread in ) and sev ( yellow salty noodle like snack ) .

It was hot but delicious . Nothing like the milder versions I have tasted here in the city ( I haven’t tasted a lot ) . I managed to finish it all and skipped lunch as a result !

I wonder why misal is under rated . It’s healthier than deep fried vadas and packs a punch in terms of proteins . Anyway , am glad I had my first whole meal of misal finally and I know this is the first of many 🙂

It’s unbelievable how I had never heard of this place until a week ago . This one is in Kalina , Santacruz East , a place I go to so often , but Thotrin cafe , tucked in the Koleveri village of Kalina ,remained a well kept secret . My sister’s colleague mentioned it to her and she was so intrigued , she went straight to the place to check it out .

I got a few pictures , a few tips on what to order ( dishes that are on the menu and those that aren’t ) and in about three days after the temptation , I gave in .

A hole in the wall , Thotrin cafe , is a simple place , three tables and a seating capacity of twelve at a time . The service is slow , but it’s worth the wait .

The beef salad , pork momos and snail curry in a potato base are dishes that you must try , none of these feature on their menu , so you’ve just got to let them know that you’ve come for those . Am not sure why they don’t have these delicacies mentioned , but word of mouth publicity has got them famous for the right dishes !

We ordered a Thotrin banana juice ( fermented ) which tasted in between vinegar and toddy ! The husband found it absolutely repulsive and one sip was all he had . I had more than half of the quantity , funnily I was enjoying the mild kick ! The term for virgin drinks in their local language is ‘chirchomri’ .

It was time for the beef salad . The beef is the dried salted version , similar to what I have had in Darjeeling , it tasted like a rubbery version of dried Bombay duck ( A Goan staple ) and I didn’t quite enjoy the texture , but the beans in the salad were yum !

Finally , the light snail curry cooked with potatoes, mint , ginger etc and sticky rice. Two ways to get the meat out of those shells , suck or use a tooth pick . This dish and the rain outside , perfect 🙂 I didn’t think I’d enjoy snails as much as I did . This is a must try . The snail curry is called ‘ korpungla’.

The pork curry with bamboo shoot is supposed to be a star dish , but we were too full and I was dizzy with that fermented banana juice , so may be next time .

I still remember how excited I was when I travelled to Kashmir ten years ago . It was my first trip to the valley and I had some great company too . Apart from spending a night on a houseboat , I was also very keen to taste the much talked about wazwan – a multi course feast . Unfortunately, a few hours before we were scheduled to experience this culinary delight, I lost my camera and it left me devastated . I was angry with myself for having been so careless and decided to stayed put in my room . The next day we were travlleing back to Bombay and that’s how I missed my chance of tasting an authentic wazwan.

Two weeks ago , as I entered Poush , a Kashmiri themed restaurant in Bombay , I knew what I was going to be ordering – wazwan 🙂

We opted for the half trammi for two and thank heavens it was a very late lunch cause one has to be super hungry to finish all that food !

Roti with Rogan josh ( how I love this curry ! ) , rista ( it said meat ball curry but there was a seekh kebab in the curry instead ) , nadier palak ( lotus stem and spinach curry … something about this combination just works for me ..heavenly ) , safed kokur ( white chicken curry ) , and rajma ( kidney beans in a red thick curry ) . So many meat dishes in one meal , unlike most thalis I’ve enjoyed across the country . Every curry was perfectly balanced .

Phirni

Then came the dessert , phirni ( rice pudding ), which was absolutely melt in the mouth 🙂

The meal ended with kahwah ( mildly spiced green tea with saffron and almonds ) . Our senses ,that had rock and rolled to the different flavours , now did a slow waltz with each sip and finally it was time to get out of our shikara ( boat setting …yes that’s the bonus ) and head home .

Poush , the name of the restaurant , comes from the saffron flower that blooms in the Kashmir valley . Am glad this one bloomed in Bombay !

As we drove around Aarey Milk colony last evening , the pleasant weather motivated us to go all the way up to the restaurant for some tea. The cannon ball tree in the compound outside is a pretty picture . Luckily the rainfall obliged and stopped for a bit , allowing me to take a few pictures of the flowers.

This is the Tulsi pipe road wall running along from Mahim to Dadar in Mumbai .

I am calling it the wonder wall cause it has once again become a canvas for artists and citizens to splash some colour and spread some love ! A long stretch of the white washed wall still awaits happy paint brushes and I hope to go back in a month to check it out in its full glory , till then here’s what I saw a couple of days ago .